State OHV Commission Denies $1.1M to BLM Due to Poor Dunes
Management
Law enforcement request was fully funded last month; management plan in
question

SACRAMENTO -- In a historic vote today for sustainable
land management, the State of California Off-Highway Vehicle Commission
turned down a $1.1 million U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) funding
request for Algodones (Imperial) Dunes management. The BLM has been under
fire from the commission and conservationists for poor dunes management
and pushing a plan to roll-back endangered species protections.

The commission did what it had to do to ensure
limited state funds go to on-the-ground conservation, not environmental
destruction. said Daniel R. Patterson, Desert Ecologist with the
Center for Biological Diversity in Idyllwild. On-going BLM management
problems at the dunes, plus a imminent plan to roll back environmental
protections, convinced the commissioners not to keep throwing money at
this destructive black hole.

The seven-member commission of governor and legislature
appointees decides how to dole out an average of $40 million annually
of state gas tax funds to support off-road vehicle (ORV) management in
California. Federal agencies such as the BLM and Forest Service have mainly
used the funds to increase ORV use, often causing environmental conflicts.
For years, the BLM dunes request has been the largest in the state. The
commission this year is favoring conservation spending to mitigate and
more sustainably manage ORV use.

We applaud the OHV Commissions decision
to deny BLM El Centros request for OHV Trust fund money for the
Algodones Sand Dunes. said Terry Weiner, Conservation Coordinator
with the Desert Protective Council in San Diego. The BLM and the
Department of the Interior have refused to come up with a plan to manage
the dunes for protection of rare and threatened plants and animals who
live there, nor has the BLM shown an interest in promoting sustainable
types of recreation at the dunes. she adds, The Commission
has indicated the States desire to cease funding an agency which
will not conform to the principles of sound recreation and resource management.

BLM was fully funded $292,000 by the commission last
month for law enforcement. Overall, the agency received 21% of its original
$1.4 million request. The lack of funding brings in to question implementation
of BLMs controversial management plan to open 85% of the Algodones
Dunes to ORVs. The dunes host an amazing community of rare imperiled and
endemic species, including the Peirsons milkvetch, flat-tailed horned
lizard, desert tortoise, Algodones Dunes sunflower, and Andrews
dunes scarab beetle.